814 homeless given a ticket out

Published 4:00 am, Friday, November 25, 2005

Photo: Brant Ward

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Ray Martin, right, a homeless man, gathers his belongings before a bus trip back to Detroit. In background are John McMahon, a return-to-residence SFPD officer, left, and Ben Aymes, a homeless services worker.
A San Francisco program to help the homeless return home or to a loved one has had great success. Several hundred homeless have left the city on a Greyhound bus thanks to the program.
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Ray Martin, right, a homeless man, gathers his belongings before a bus trip back to Detroit. In background are John McMahon, a return-to-residence SFPD officer, left, and Ben Aymes, a homeless services worker. ... more

Photo: Brant Ward

814 homeless given a ticket out

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Since its inception 10 months ago, the Homeward Bound program has put 814 homeless people on buses with one-way tickets out of San Francisco, to every state except North and South Dakota and Vermont, city officials say. It is the most extensive program of its kind in the nation, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness.

Only about 25 participants have returned to the city, program managers say.

"We get people all the time who call and cry and say 'thank you for sending our brother or dad or daughter home," said Ben Amyes, the main street counselor for the program.

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Those who come back apparently do so after getting cold feet on the bus ride. Robert Short, 38, was one who returned. Put on a bus in August for a three day-trip to Illinois, he got off at the Oakland Greyhound station and caught BART straight back to his usual panhandling spot on Van Ness Avenue.

"My aunt said she would take me back, but I didn't really want to go back," he said a week later. "I felt pressured by the cops, and it sounded like a good idea for a minute. But after I sat in that bus seat awhile, I said screw it, I'm not leaving."

Mayor Gavin Newsom was inspired to start Homeward Bound, he said, after reading a story in The Chronicle about a homeless woman, Rita Grant, who was rescued from the streets of San Francisco by her sister. She was taken by her family to Florida, where she is now healthy and happy.

"There were five of six months of debate on whether to do this program, but then I saw those pictures (of Grant), and they tipped me," the mayor said. "It made me think about how a big part of the solution to homelessness is re-engaging people with their families -- and since we started this, it's been an extraordinary thing, considering the impact on people's lives. It's been a quiet success."

In creating Homeward Bound, Newsom wasn't starting from scratch. He streamlined a process that existed for decades, through which San Francisco sent homeless people home -- but only after they qualified for welfare. The mayor called this an "absurd" requirement, since that meant linking people to a system in a city they were trying to leave.

The old way served a handful of people each year. Now, recipients can go home the same day they apply.

Since it began Feb. 7, the city has spent $80,000 on bus tickets -- a good investment, Homeward Bound managers say, considering many of those sent home were costing thousands of dollars in jail, medical and shelter services.

The risk of a program that sends people away is that the city could be accused of dumping its problems elsewhere. So Newsom's staff consulted with several other cities with similar programs, including Sacramento, and came up with two requirements: The homeless people must be able and ready to go home, and those receiving them must convince counselors in San Francisco they truly want the person back.

"We're trying to raise the bar and be more accountable," the mayor said.

The program is run by the Department of Human Services, which hands out the bus ticket money at its welfare office and supplies two street counselors. The Police Department contributes four officers from its homeless outreach detail to also work with recipients -- one aspect that draws criticism from the Coalition on Homelessness.

"Having police officers hand out bus tickets might be seen as too forceful," said coalition Director Juan Prada. "And we think they should do more follow-up a few months later with the people they send home." Otherwise, he said, he believes "the program is being done correctly, not just dumping people."

Lt. David Lazar, who runs the police outreach team, said his officers are "extremely sensitive" to not being perceived as forceful in their bus-ticket jobs. And outreach officers Jon McMahon and Cathie Daly say they aren't out to coerce anyone.

Well-liked on the street, they call Amyes if they need extra consultation, but often they can handle the bus ticketing task themselves. It helps that they dress in plain clothes and don't look like cops.

"I never thought when I became a police officer five years ago that I'd wind up a social worker, but that's how it feels," McMahon said. "I like it. A lot."

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